New Delhi: A historic mosque near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence in New Delhi has reportedly been issued an eviction notice on Monday, October 19, after the Land and Development Office (L&DO) declared the premises “unauthorised” and ordered for it to be vacated within six days.The Race Course mosque, listed among heritage properties on the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) website, had its electricity and water supplies cut off on October 7, prompting concerns over access to the place of worship, reported The Tribune.The L&DO claims that the mosque stands on government land. The mosque’s heritage listing has also come under scrutiny amid the dispute.Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind seeks Union government’s interventionThe Jamiat Ulama-i-Hindi has sought intervention from Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju to protect the Race Course mosque and an adjoining graveyard.Mohammad Hakimuddin Qasmi, representing the organisation’s delegation, submitted a memorandum stating that the site appears in the NDMC heritage list referenced in the 1977 Delhi Gazette and in a revised list maintained by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.The Jamiat has also sought reports from the Delhi Waqf board and the NDMC in this regard, urging authorities to not take any action towards demolition until the legal dispute is settled. According to the Tribune’s report, Rijiju heard the organisation’s plea and assured it that he would make “every possible effort” in the matter.Mosque’s imam alleged inaction by Waqf boardAs per The Hindustan Gazette, Mohammed Harun, the mosque’s imam, in a video statement, said he has been persistently raising the issue with the Delhi Waqf board for the past six months, without any result.He alleged that the board did not take any effective measures to resolve the matter beyond writing to the NDMC about the disconnection of water and electricity.“I have made frequent requests to the CEO [of the Waqf board], but no attention was paid to my complaint. Even drinking water has come to an end. Water cannot be fetched from anywhere as the way to the mosque has been blocked, creating a lot of trouble in coming and going to and from the mosque. I have told the Waqf board to go to the court regarding this issue. Then, I asked for permission to go to the court. Regrettably, the Waqf board neither went to the court nor allowed him to go to the court,” said Harun.He argued that the mosque is an authorised heritage property and that a survey conducted in 2021 had not identified the Race Course mosque as “unauthorised” or “an encroachment.” These claims, however, have not yet been independently verified.“I appeal to our well-wishers and justice-loving people to kindly make efforts to save this mosque. I have put in all my efforts but I’m miserable as the Waqf board, which has legal authority to deal with such cases, is not standing by me and this mosque,” he said.Other eviction proceedings near the prime minister’s residenceThe mosque dispute is part of a larger eviction drive, including the removal of slum dwellers from the Race Course Road, where the prime minister’s residence is located.According to the Hindustan Gazette, the Delhi high court on Monday, October 19, gave a nod to civic authorities to evict slum dwellers from the area and to provide them with education, transport and sanitation facilities at Savda Ghevra, a resettlement colony about 45 km away where the residents are to be taken to.